Water resistant bench finish

My buddy opened up a gym recently and asked if I’d build him a couple benches for his bathrooms. Doesn’t seem like a tough project except for the finish. It’s going to be in the bathroom, so sweaty people, or people who showered will probably be sitting on it. Was plan on doing the same thing the wood whisperer did for his outdoor bench. Clear penetrating epoxy and then epifanes marine varnish, figure if it’s good enough for outside use it should work fine for a bathroom. When I went to price the stuff, not sure exactly how much I’d need for 2, 4 foot benches, thinking quart of each of the epoxy and a pint of gloss and pint of matte epifanes. Well for that much it’d run like $150, which is pretty darn expensive. Was wondering if anyone had any suggestions of a good finish that isn’t going to break the bank?

12 replies so far

Just use a good water borne polyurethane finish, several coats will provide great water proof finish. Just don’t put the benches outside, you need the UV protection of spar varnish for sunny locations.

Untinted paint. It’s exterior rated, so moisture resistant and durable as, well, paint. Best of all, it’s a lot cheaper. It looks all the world like varnish when applied (the oil based) and I’ve used it on window sills that had windows that got left open in the rain on occasion. If you go with the waterborne untinted paint, the 2 I’ve seen (SW A 100, and Olympic premium exterior) they are actually almost water clear. I’m sure they would do as well, but I can’t say from first hand use. More info on this here.

Used some Basic Coatings waterborne floor finish (Emulsion Satin) on my shop cabinets then topped that with wax. Hard, durable and resists moisture and oils. Dries clear as any finish I’ve ever used.

Had a gallon left over from refinishing my floors and figured I’d give it a try. I thinned the first few coats – about 50/50 with water. Sanded between coats to get rid of the fuzz and then went full strength. It lays down really well and self-levels nicely.

It’s the reason Art and I suggested a floor finish. They’re designed to stand up to harsh conditions that furniture doesn’t usually endure. I used it on my shop cabinets for those reasons. Floor finishes are more durable and can withstand moisture and chemicals better than furniture finishes.

Thanks for the advice. The bona traffic hd sounds like it’d be perfect. Sucks it’s still $120 but you get a gallon of the stuff, def wouldn’t need that much but that’s the smallest I saw. Seems like it’d at least be pretty easy to apply compared to the other stuff.

Haha. Would you all suggest using a rot resistant wood, or would it matter much with this finish? Originally was gonna use walnut but after reading into it, changed to white oak for being rot resistant and for being strong stuff.

Thanks for the advice. The bona traffic hd sounds like it d be perfect. Sucks it s still $120 but you get a gallon of the stuff, def wouldn t need that much but that s the smallest I saw. Seems like it d at least be pretty easy to apply compared to the other stuff.